The Brighton Magazine

Selected Brighton Magazine Article

The London born, Brighton raised and BBC Sound 2019 Nominated singer Grace Carter found through music the strength to speak out, to face down heartbreak and forge something transformative from the pain.

There are no showy vocal pyrotechnics here, no over processed productions, just a raw, intimate truthfulness and a fierce independent streak.

With the release of her arresting debut single, Silence, Carter shared her honesty and artistry with the rest of the world.

"Everything I sing comes from somewhere real,"Carter explains.

"I started out writing just for myself, but as time's gone on, it's become clear that the songs are so honest that people can really connect to them in relation to their own lives."

Grace grew up in Brighton listening to the likes of Lauryn Hill and Nina Simone, which is evident in her powerful songwriting, which shows emotional and musical maturity.

She began songwriting during her school days, and at the age of fourteen was already performing her own material in public.

Grace vividly remembers the moment that she first truly connected with a song.

She was on her way to visit her grandparents, riding in the backseat of her mother's car, when suddenly, Nina Simone's voice brought her to tears.

Carter was perhaps too young to appreciate the cultural undercurrents at play in the music the way she can now, but she certainly understood the emotion.

Complicated family dynamics at home often left Carter feeling frustrated and resentful, which could at times become overwhelming, but Simone's voice revealed the cathartic potential for music as a form of escape.

"Growing up I had a lot of anger"Carter says,"but I didn't have a voice or a way of getting those emotions out and processing them.

"When I was 13, my stepdad bought me a guitar and steered me toward music, and as soon as I started writing songs, it felt like the weight just lifted right off of me.

"Songwriting was like this little weapon, this special tool I had. I never wanted to stop."

Grace Carter has announced a hometown show at Brighton's The Haunt on 21st December 2018. For tickets CLICK HERE. Her Debut EP 'Whey Her Not Me' is out now.

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